Tropical trouble could be brewing around Florida, hurricane forecasters say

A broad area of low pressure could develop offshore of the southeastern U.S. coast. Regardless of development, the area of disturbed weather is expected to be a rainmaker in the region.

Another potential tropical disturbance popped up on the National Hurricane Center's tracking chart on Saturday, July 12.

For those who watch every potential storm closely, this initial map looks a lot like the first one that

The possible development area swoops from the Atlantic to the Gulf across much of Florida, but this time the system is moving toward the Gulf, and the advisory includes the southern shores of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

A broad area of low pressure could develop sometime within the next several days offshore of the southeastern U.S. coast, the hurricane center said on the afternoon of July 12. Environmental conditions could become "marginally conducive" for the gradual development of a system within five to seven days as it moves westward across Florida. The chances of development are low, only 20%.

"Should development take place on the Atlantic side of Florida, it may once again drift northward toward the U.S. coast," Accuweather said on July 11. The more plausible option is development on the Gulf side, which could be steered westward along the northern Gulf Coast, the weather forecast company stated.

Will a hurricane impact your state in 2025? Odds get an update.

Where are the hurricanes? Top forecast says a busy season is still on the way.

How 'tropical waves' carry confounding clues about huge hurricanes

Regardless of development, the area of disturbed weather is expected to be a rainmaker in the region. Heavy rain is possible over parts of Florida and the Southeast coast through mid-to-late week, the center stated in the July 12 advisory.

Tropical weather watchers say windshear over the Caribbean and dry air and Saharan dust over the Atlantic have helped keep this hurricane season from getting too busy so far.

Still Chantal's development put the 2025 hurricane season about a month ahead of schedule. Typically the third Atlantic named storm doesn't form until August 3, according to Phil Klotzbach, a research scientist at Colorado State University, who leads its seasonal outlooks for the Atlantic hurricane season each year.

however the latest forecast from Klotzbach and his team slightly

Heavy rains flooded parts of North Carolina, claiming six lives.

At least six deaths were reported in flooding in North Carolina

The Haw River crested at 32.5 feet, only a third of a foot away from its all-time high, set after Hurricane Fran in 1996, according to the weather service office in Raleigh. Chantal also spawned four EF-1 tornadoes in North Carolina, one each in Mebane, Snow Camp, southern Pittsboro and at the Raleigh Executive Jetport.

The highest rainfall totals were reported in Chatham County, where 11.92 inches were reported in Moncure and Pittsboro, where the weather service collected five

Dinah Voyles Pulver, a national correspondent for USA TODAY, writes about climate change, violent weather and other news. Reach her at dpulver@usatoday.com or @dinahvp on Bluesky or X or dinahvp.77 on Signal.